The Bible says ‘verily, verily, I say unto you, Until heaven and earth pass away, and the heavens are removed, and the elements be destroyed, and the earth and that which is in the earth be destroyed – Mark 13:33
Until I was a Christian, I always had a relationship with God. I was always very close to Him. I would never be separated from Him. And I am sure that it was a close relationship because He called me His friend. I always had an active hope in Him. Once the Holy Spirit entered my heart, I instantly got a new sense of confidence in Him. I didn’t need to depend on what other people said about me anymore. I knew that God loved me unconditionally.
Once we become born again, God judges us by the things which we have personally manifested, not what we have outwardly displayed. To be truly fruitful, we must settle our conflicts within ourselves first. We must open a door for God to come into our hearts. The first step is to become convinced that the God we believe in is real and that He truly desires to speak to us. By doing this we will be speaking directly to Him and taking small steps in the right direction, although we may not see the whole road at the time.
Reflecting on the First Principles of Faith unfolds this idea of what it means to have confidence in the presence of God, even when you can’t see Him. In other words, you must believe that He is there when you aren’t looking for Him, just as you must also believe that it is possible to experience His presence when you are striving to maintain a relationship with Him.
The principle of believing is an absolutely critical path in navigating the mysteries of life and belief. The Bible declares that faith works by love. By applying the power of love to our choices, we prove that His perspective is always right. Now, how good is your belief? This next principle takes a look at how well you are expressing your faith.
4 Two: I am convinced of his existence
Many people are able to claim this aspect of God. Others are not so fortunate. Why is that? For what reason does the world choose to believe in a God they can’t see? The reasoning for why some people don’t see God is that they may be blind to the truth. Perhaps they are too busy worshiping and serving God to notice Him wherever He is. Or, maybe they don’t have an open, clear vision of the relationship they hope toouthinkGod to.
We don’t have to have a problem seeing God. Our problems come when we don’t know Him. In addition, even if our eyes are perfectly clear, we can encounter the mystery of his presence (and the working of his love) only if our minds are open and receptive. What does God want us to know about him? Isn’t it enough to know that He is angry, vengeful, and perfect and that His will is a will that can be attained, in a single moment, if we will obey Him?
In James 1:27 we read, “But if anyone does not have his faith working, he will be condemned.” It is much easier to affirm our faith in God than it is to live it out.
God is more willing to reveal himself to those who are willing to humble themselves. For this reason, there are many stories of people whose lives were modeled after God’s own. One incident attributed to this principle is the story of a mother and her son. The woman had a deep faith that her son would be a great success in life. She held him in the palm of her hand and never gave up on him.
Her son had numerous difficulties in his life. Every time one of them occurred, she was devastated. Seeing her anguish, the Lord appeared to her and said, “Do not despair. I will help you.” The next time the boy had a problem, he died from stoning. Clearly, she had suffered a lot over the years and her fragile faith had virtually been replaced by certainty.
Let’s look at another story:
Zacchaeus had been blind since birth. For twelve years he had carried a gloomy look. That look should have been rewarded with a gift, but for all he had gained by being given that look, he had lost everything. He rubbed himself, his friends, his dignity… He had lost everything. He had even lost his hope. Still, he was a valuable member of the body of Christ and he greatly distressed his distress with a positive attitude that has ever since been called by the author of Hebrews to “agree with reproof”.